A month after acknowledging only that he made "mistakes," Ryan Braun admitted taking performance enhancing drugs during his NL MVP season of 2011.

Braun said he took a cream and a lozenge containing banned substances while rehabilitating an injury.

"It was a huge mistake for which I am deeply ashamed and I compounded the situation by not admitting my mistakes immediately," Braun said in a statement released by the Brewers.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that Cardinals Minor League outfielder Yoenny Gonzalez has received a 50-game suspension without pay for his violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

The suspension of Gonzalez, who is currently on the roster of the rookie-level Johnson City (TN) Cardinals, is effective immediately.

Major League Baseball has suspended Ryan Dempster for five games and fined him for intentionally hitting Alex Rodriguez on Sunday night.

Dempster threw one pitch behind A-Rod's knees on Sunday night and two more inside at Fenway Park. His fourth pitch struck Rodriguez's left elbow pad and ricocheted off his back.

Joe Girardi said Dempster needed to be suspended or it would be "open season" on Rodriguez.

"You just can't throw at someone because you don't like him or disagree with the way something's being handled," Girardi said. "If a player is suspended for throwing at someone, they're going to get their appeal. Are we going to throw that out, too? So, I mean, this is what's been negotiated."

Miguel Tejada, suspended for 105 games last week because of positive tests for amphetamine use this season, was also implicated in the Biogenesis investigation, according to sources.

Major League Baseball had the choice of going after Tejada for the Biogenesis case or for the amphetamine case. MLB chose to suspend Tejada after he tested positive for a third time in his career for amphetamines.

According to a source, Tejada was given the choice of either accepting the 105-game suspension for amphetamine use or facing additional punishment for his Biogenesis connection.

Many believe that Major League Baseball will suspend Ryan Dempster for what is being perceived as intentionally hitting Alex Rodriguez on Sunday night.

If Dempster isn't penalized, it would only feed into the belief that Major League Baseball has it out for Rodriguez, who is currently appealing his 211-game suspension in the wake of the Biogenesis scandal.

Alex Rodriguez could have accepted a suspension lighter than his 211-game sentence from Major League Baseball, according to sources.

Rodriguez had settlement discussions with baseball, with a 50-game suspension proposed at one point in April. However, Rodriguez wanted to fight the league's findings in the Biogenesis investigation and refused an agreement.

A source denies that Major League Baseball offered a 50-game suspension, claiming Rodriguez pushed for the sentence. Regardless, Rodriguez could have avoided the 211-game suspension he is currently appealing.

"At different points, it could have been way, way less than where it is now," one source said.

Miguel Tejada has been suspended 105 games after testing positive for an amphetamine in violation of Major League Baseball's drug program.

The suspension is effective immediately.

"I admitted I made a mistake. But I want people to understand one thing: I wasn't using a drug to take advantage on the field, or be stronger or hit more home runs," Tejada said.

"I've been using it [Adderall] for the past five years and had medical permission from MLB. But my last permit expired on April 15 and they didn't gave me another. I knew that I was in risk of breaking the rules, but at the same time, I could not stop using the medicine because I suffer from ADD [Attention Deficit Disorder]. It's not a vice, it is a disease."

Bud Selig stood by his decision to issue a 211-game suspension to Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, calling it "eminently fair."

"I spent many, many hours thinking about it," Selig told reporters Thursday at the owner's meetings in Cooperstown, N.Y. "Trying to be fair, trying to be logical and rational. And the one thing you learn in this job after 20-something years, I wouldn't second-guess it today at all.

"I know why I did it, and what I did. I thought it was eminently fair then and I think it's eminently fair today."

The New York Yankees hand-delivered a letter to Alex Rodriguez prior to Friday night's game, informing him that he will be disciplined for seeking a second opinion on an injury without club approval, according to sources.

Rodriguez and the Yankees fought publicly late in July over the health of his quadriceps.

Without officially informing the team, Rodriguez had orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael Gross of Hackensack University Medical Center examine his MRI.

The letter did not specify the exact nature of the discipline.

Rodriguez is appealing his 211-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy. He did not speak to reporters Friday.

Alex Rodriguez has officially filed a formal appeal of the 211-game suspension he received from Major League Baseball earlier this week, according to two sources.

Rodriguez has played in two games for the New York Yankees since the suspensions were announced on Monday afternoon.